Cambridge Travel Forum

Hi there

I'm an Aussie visiting Cambridge for 10 weeks from mid-June to the end of September. During the week I will be studying at the uni but weekends I would like to see as much of the surrounding country as possible. Can anyone suggest any good day trips/weekend trips that wouldn't be completely out of budget for a student? I'm thinking 50-70 pounds for the trip.

Also, this is going to sound really stupid, but can anyone give me an idea of how much it costs in Cambridge to set myself up in groceries? It's hard to work out a budget from this end. Even if you can just help with one or two items with a rough price guess that would be more info than I have now! I would need:
- toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, shower gel, tissues, pads
- salt, tomato sauce, sugar, teabags, milo, canola oil
- tomatoes, celery, shallots, potato, pumpkin, lettuce
- frozen vegies in bags
- pasta, pasta sauces
- bread, butter, vegemite (or UK equivalent), peanut butter, instant oats (you know, add hot water/milk and microwave and you've got porrige), honey
- tins of tuna, sandwich meat (shaved ham/chicken)
- tub of icecream, milk, eggs, bacon
- and I know meat is awfully expensive but I'll ask anyway - rough per kilo prices for chicken breasts, lamb chops, pork chops, cheap steak, mince, and kangaroo if you guys have it.

Thanks so much for any help
Cheers,
Jessie

Cambridge itself is worth exploring. Its also very easy to get on a train to London. trains are cheaper if you travel after 9.30 and buy a 1 day travel card. There is also national express coaches which are cheaper but take longer. Its about an hour on the train to London.
You could also take a trip to the North Norfolk coast on a good day. Cromer is very atmospheric, not changed much since its Edwardian heyday. There are also good beach walks at Holkham and a steam railway at Sheringham.
As for food, checkout Tesco when you get here. They have a "value" range of products covering just about everything and they are really cheap. There are a number of stores in Cambridge or they do internet order and delivery at www.tesco.com. Also on their website they have a "pricecheck" page where you can see the costs of all the products (and vs their competitors)

Enjoy your stay.

ps UK equivalent of vegimite is marmite (and its even better!)

Go to www.tesco.com and check out the prices on the site.

Cheers!
Sarah

Hey Melanie - great minds think Tescos :-)

Oh and for day trips, Ely is lovely and a short ride on the train northwards. Also Norwich.

Sarah

Hi, my son was in Cambridge from mid-February to mid-April this year. He went to London a couple of times at the weekend. He'll be back in Cambridge from July to the end of September, this time I'm going to take his stay as a nice excuse to treat myself to a trip to England. I'm planning a trip to Bury St Edmunds, and another to London.
My son is a 22-year-old student and he liked Cambridge a lot. He said daily life was expensive. He had around 300 GBP a month for groceries ,some extras etc and had no problems. Of course he didn't have any fancy dinners in expensive restaurants.
I'm sure someone living in Cambridge can give you more detailed advice.
If you have any other question about life in Cambridge from a foreign student's point of view, mail me. My son won a free trip to Hongkong - isn't he lucky??!- and that's where is right now, but he'll be back next week.
Christine

Hi, maybe a bit off topic - but Stansted Airport is close by, so for a weekend trip you could even consider a cheap flight using Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) or another cheap carrier. We used them for an enjoyable daytrip TO Cambridge early last year.

Have a nice stay, P.

Thanks very much everyone, especially for the Tesco link. Keep those daytrips coming, I've got ten weekends to fill!

Cheers,
Jessie

Also, mad4travel - do you mean the trains are cheaper after 9:30 am or pm?

I hope you have a lovely time in Cambridge - my brother has lived either in the city or very near there for the last 25 years and it is a great place to stay.

For things like toothpaste etc it is always worth trying 'Superdrug' as they sometimes have some real bargains, even cheaper than Tescos.

Great places to visit in the area - Ely (there's a cathedral), the Suffolk coastline, Audley End house, Gog Magog Hills, London (only a short journey away) Travel is more expensive in the earlier part of he day cos of communters - travel by train after 9.30am.
http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/planmyjourney/time_table/journey_requirements.asp?&T2ID=6629_2005610124448

The countryside around Cambridge is fairly flat and hiring bikes is a great way to see the place. You can also get together with a group of others and punt quite a way - Grantchester is a lovely place to head for.

Also, mad4travel - do you mean the trains are cheaper after 9:30 am or pm?

Gah, sorry for the double post.

Trains are cheaper after 9.30 am

Cheers
Mel